Eight
by AlchemyRepose
Summary: A young woman lives her life on an island dominated by a Marine base. However, that life is flipped upside-down when she discovers her hidden Devil's fruit abilities and joins a pirate crew. One Piece fic I started writing on a whim. No pairings, but I might throw one in or hint at it. -This fic involves an OC-


The pale grey-blue sky was spotted with the first signs of stars. The painted brick buildings of Cedelle were nothing but twisted silhouttes crouching next to the wide cobbled streets. Windows filled with yellow light glared like dim lights all across the city. Silence fell like a heavy blanket, snuffing out any signs of life. The sychronized steps of two Marines patrolling the streets seemed blank and hollow and even they seemed affected by the deafening quietness.

A Marine base stood proud and tall at the island's shore, perched at the mouth of the Cedelle strait like a gallant protector. A massive brick arc stretched over the quarter-mile wide strait, extending from one half of the base to the other. The word 'MARINE' was painted in cerulean across the white arc. Eight massive, black iron spikes protruded from the sea bottom, acting as a gateway to the island.

At the opposite end of the strait, there were another eight spikes blocking the waterway, and two tall watchtowers. Both had lights blinking morse code, the information travelling directly to the Marine base across the island.

The silence hovering over the island was suddenly broken by the shrill, slowly undulating whine of an alarm. The sleepy Marine base suddenly burst into life, with soldiers rushing to and fro and calling loudly to one another. Cedelle was thrown into a similar panic, with people throwing open their doors and peering their heads out to look up at the darkening sky in confusion and fear.

A small airship rose from the base and flew low over the city, scattering hundreds of papers into the wind. It circled around the city twice, the flow of papers steadily decreasing, until it finally stopped and returned to the base. The streets were littered with the papers, which were hastily grabbed up by civilians.

Each and every paper was a portion of a wanted poster with a short blurb at the bottom. "WANTED: STRAW HAT LUFFY – INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS – KILL ON SIGHT – PIRATE – ONE OF NINE" Read many of the posters, while others displayed his apparent crewmates.

Civilians returned to their homes, leaving most of the papers scattered on the streets, and grabbed their makeshift weapons or rifles. They glowered at their doors and windows, leaving them open as if daring the pirates to come and attack. Very few people remained on the streets; but one girl stood in the very center of the town. A bubbling fountain sat behind her, a few soggy wanted posters drifting in the water. In both hands she held a heavy cast-iron frying pan, holding it out in front of her as if she expected a pirate to leap out of the shadows at any moment. She looked around, having a clear view of the streets.

"Th-That jerk. What a time to lock me out."

She walked down the street cautiously, peering down each one before stepping. She stopped at a corner and leaned against the wall. A breeze blew down the street, the papers shuffling in a small flurry, before settling back down. She froze as, among the rustlings, she heard a soft thud and a quiet voice.

"Shit..Oi, Zoro, where do you think everyone is?" She peered around, pressing herself against the rough brick wall. She caught a glimpse of a darkly tanned man with a mane of black curly hair and a long nose crouching over a large bag, gathering up the contents which had apparently spilled. She only saw a portion of the man standing next to him with his hand on his hip before she ducked behind the wall again. The other man didn't respond, and the girl pressed her back against the wall, gripping her pan. She heard a heavy step, and then another, and she realized the man was walking towards her.

"_Shit!"_ She thought frantically, throwing her head back and staring in frustration at the dark sky. There was a quiet jingle with every step he took, and his gait was uneven. The girl hefted her pan, and as soon as she heard him at the corner she turned, swinging the frying pan with all of her weight. The dull thud and force against the pan told her she'd at least hit something; but the shocked grunt and heavy thud and shufflings of someone falling over told her she'd hit her intended target.

She stepped out from behind the wall, holding the frying pan threateningly. The heavily tanned man was still crouching, staring in shock, and the other man was lying flat on his back. He had a shock of bright green hair and three katana at his hip.

The girl stepped towards the man with the long nose, pointing the pan at him. "You...Stay there!" She felt some satisfaction at his look of genuine fear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man move, reaching towards his face. She gave a little shriek, having assumed she'd knocked him out, and slammed the pan on his face again. When he yelped in pain and went to sit up, she hit him a second and third time.

"QUIT IT!" The green-haired man roared. Although her initial attack had knocked him flat, he seemed mostly unhurt. He caught the pan with one hand and wrenched it from her grip, causing her to slip in the posters littering the street and fall flat. The girl pushed herself up onto all fours and looked up at the green-haired man.

"Zoro, are you alright?" The long-nosed man said, coming forward. The green-haired man wiped his nose, and upon noting there was no blood, responded.

"Yeah."

The long-nosed man looked down at the girl, who scurried backwards in fear as Zoro dropped the frying pan in front of her with a clang.

She swiped it up and hopped to her feet. "Oi, kid, why'd you try to attack-"

"B-By order of the Marines, I h-hereby place you two under arrest!"

"Don't you know when to stay down?" Zoro said calmly, looking her in the eye, his hand shifting to the handle of one of his katana. Any normal human would have quailed under his gaze, but the girl stood tall.

"I am a civilian of Cedelle! We do not stand-LISTEN TO SOMEONE WHEN THEY'RE TALKING!" She cut off with a shriek as Zoro turned and began walking away with the other man in tow.

She pitched the frying pan in his direction, but missed and hit the long-nosed man in the back of the head. He gave a stifled cry and fell face-forward into the posters, and lay without moving.

"Oh my god! Did I kill him?" She clapped her hands over her mouth, staring in shock.

Zoro stared down at his fallen nakama and then looked at the girl.

"If you're trying to pick a fight, you've found one..." He slowly unsheathed his katana and kicked the frying pan in her direction.

"That's your weapon, isn't it? Pick it up." Zoro said, putting one of his katana in his mouth. The girl slowly knelt, shaking horribly, picking up the frying pan and holding it in front of her defensively.

Zoro slashed outward, the air in front of his swords forming into blades.

The girl gave a small scream and put the pan facing outward, pressing her palm against it and ducking her head. The three strikes slammed into the metal pan with enough force to cut walls to pieces; however, she successfully withstood the attack. She relaxed and stared at the pan confusedly, as if it had some special power. Zoro looked surprised as well, but quickly regained his composure. The girl charged forward, leaping into the air with spectacular strength, slamming the pan downwards. Zoro blocked quickly, and the edge of the pan got hooked for a moment on the swords, causing the girl to successfully land on her face.

The long-nosed man got up blearily, blood running down his face from his nose.

"Huhh...Eh?" He looked over as the girl got up again and swung the pan, only for it to be blocked once again.

"She's fighting Zoro...With a pan?" He watched the fight in confusion. Neither the girl nor Zoro managed to get a hit in, and the girl seemed to get stronger and more confident. She struck with more precision and blocked faster with each strike Zoro attempted.

A group of people ran over, attracted by the sound of metal on metal. Led by a woman with short, bright orange hair, they ran over to the long-nosed man who had retreated to the sidewalk.

"Look," He said, pointing to the two fighters. "She's somehow withstanding Zoro's attacks..."

"Oi, Zoro!" Called the orange-haired woman. "Quit messing around! There are Marines everywhere, we have to go!"

"I'm not messing around!" Snapped Zoro. He was slammed in the face by the girl because of the momentary distraction.

"Oi, oi! You're using a pan when he's using swords! That's not fair!" Howled a boy wearing a straw hat.

"Wh-What do you mean its not fair?" The girl pointed at Zoro, who was stunned by her hit. "He's got three of them!"

The boy reached out, his arm stretching across the street, and grabbed the girl by the collar. "You wanna fight?" He smirked, curled his other fist, pulling her close to him and intending on punching her in the face. She kicked him between the legs before he had the chance. He gave a choked cry and doubled over, letting her go.

"That hurt..! You must be strong!" He said, straightening a bit and looking up at her.

"Are you an idiot?!" She shrieked, backing away.

"Who are you?"

"I-I'm no one of importance! Look!" She dropped the frying pan and held up her hands. "I don't know what's up with that pan. I'm weak!"

"Luffy." A man wearing a black suit holding a lit cigarette stepped forward and stopped his captain before he punched the girl.

"She's unarmed, don't attack her." He turned towards the girl, and his serious expression suddenly melted into one of adoration.

"You're cute-" The girl kicked him in the shin and took off running without stopping to see if it affected him at all.

"Luffy! Grab her, if she gets the Marines, we'll be in big trouble!" The orange-haired woman cried, and suddenly Luffy had grabbed the girl and dragged her back kicking and screaming.

"Sorry, but we can't let you get those Marines!" He hauled her over his shoulder and took off running, followed by the rest of his crew.

"You're pretty strong. You wanna join my crew?" Luffy said with a wide grin as he ran. The girl stopped screaming for a moment and stared at him in shock.

"Please put me down." She whispered.

"Nope-!"

A large group of Marines skirted the corner and stopped in front of the pirates. "There! They've taken a hostage!"

"Open fire!"

"Uwah-!" Luffy skidded to a halt, one hand going up to his hat. "Gomu Gomu no...Pistol!" He punched into the crowd of Marines as his crew changed direction, running towards the shore.

"Whoops- shit!" He began to run after his crew again without putting the girl down.

"Help me!" The girl screamed desperately at the Marines.

Before she knew it, Luffy had jumped onto his ship along with his crew and they'd set sail. The Marines stood at the shore and fired, but to no avail.

"You brought her with us?!" The orange-haired woman yelled at Luffy, her hands on her hips.

"I forgot to put her down..."

"N-Nami, shouldn't we be worrying about more important things?" Said the long-nosed man nervously. "Those Marines are going to be coming after us..."

Nami sighed and turned towards the girl. "How long does it take for a log pose to set on this island?"

The girl messed up her face furiously. "I'll never tell you anything!"

Nami glanced at the log pose on her wrist. "Oh! It's set already. So it was only an hour." The blond man in the suit came down holding a platter. "Nami-swan~! You must be tired from that running, so I brought you a drink!"

"Oh...Thanks, Sanji-kun."

Sanji offered one to the girl. "What's your name, cutie~?"

She swiped one of the drinks off the platter. "...Sheila."

"So pretty, just like you!" He bounced away and offered the last drink on the platter to a dark-haired woman.

Sheila sat in the corner next to a few crates, sipping the drink, which was surprisingly tasty. When Nami passed by, she spoke out. "Are you going to take me back to my island?"

Nami stopped and looked down at the frightened girl. "No," She said, more gently than before. "but we can drop you off at the next island we get to and you'll have to find your own way back. That is, if Luffy doesn't want you to join."

"You guys aren't against it?"

Nami sighed. "Honestly, once he makes up his mind, there's nothing we can do." Once he heard his name, Luffy hopped off the bow and darted over, hooking his arm around Sheila's neck. "So, how do ya like my crew?"

"I don't like you. You're pirates." She glared. Luffy laughed. "You're really strong, though. I need a strong crew if I'm gonna become the Pirate King!"

"_You're _going to become the Pirate King?"

"Yep!"

"You're insane." Sheila pushed his arm off of her and got to her feet. "Take me back to my island...Or you'll feel my wrath!" Luffy sat, his hands clasped around his feet, the bottoms of which were pressed together. He grinned suddenly.

"Shishishi~"

"Don't laugh! I mean it!"

Sheila held out her hands threateningly, and Luffy was suddenly pushed up against the ship wall, as if by a powerful gust of wind.

"Woah-!" He held his hat, wrapping his hat over the railing. "Did you do that? That was cool!"

"Um..." Sheila stared at her palms. "I...Think I did?"

"Didn't you eat a Devil's fruit?"

"Uh..." Sheila rolled her eyes upwards, thinking back. "Not in my memory..."

She clapped her hands to her face. "Oh no! If I did, then I won't be able to go back home!"

"Huh?" Luffy straightened, looking at her quizically.

"Devil's fruits are outlawed! They'd execute me..!"

"How do you not know if you ate one? They taste pretty nasty..." Luffy said, cocking his head to the side and scratching his jaw. Sheila stared at her hands. "I felt something weird when...that wind...came. I think it was me who did that." She put her palms outward again, and another invisible force pushed Luffy overboard. Sheila slapped her hands over her mouth, but Luffy's arm stretched and grabbed the railing. He pulled himself over.

"Hehehe-! See, I'm okay."

"S-Sorry..." She turned away, pointing her hands at the crate she was sitting next to. The box was lifted into the air and it drifted towards her. She let it drop with a heavy thud.

"How do you tell if you have a Devil's fruit ability..?"

"Well, you sink like a hammer in water." Said Luffy, frowning.

"I guess that explains why I've never been able to swim..."

"Maybe you ate the fruit at such an early age that you don't remember." The dark haired woman suddenly stepped forward, her arms folded across her chest, having listened in on the conversation. "Oh, Robin! You think that's what happened?"

Sheila thought back again. "Oh! Now I remember. When I was really little, my dad told me that I might discover something strange about me when I was older. I didn't think it'd be this, though..."

"If Devil's fruits were outlawed, he may have fed it to you to hide the evidence."

"I don't think it was that..." Sheila smiled nervously. "A-Anyway, Luffy-san...Since I can't go home, I'd like to join your crew!" She stood straight and tall, raising her chin and biting her lower lip. Luffy laughed. "Sure-!"


End file.
